Holiday trip to Disney Springs
Halloween is over and it’s officially Christmas season around Orlando! My college roomie/BFF is coming with her family to Disney this weekend, and I’ve taken a few days off so we can hang out with them. That means it was time to buy our Disney World annual passes!
We always do the down payment/monthly payment option because it costs the same and is a nice way to spread out the cost. I had the brilliant idea to buy Disney gift cards with my Target Red Card, saving 5% and use them for my down payment. However, when I went to buy our passes online, I discovered that they don’t take Disney gift cards as payment online; you have to do that in person. We decided to make the best of the situation, and booked movie tickets at the AMC Disney Springs to see The Eternals, and went to buy our passes at Disney Springs.
The line was long at the ticket center, and after we had been waiting about 10 minutes, a guy with a touchpad informed us that we were supposed to have checked in at some other vague location previously, and all the people in line behind us were actually ahead of us. I was very, very frustrated. However, by the time we finally made it inside to talk to an agent, she was very friendly, helpful and even booked our reservations for next week for us so I didn’t have to. I walked out satisfied. AND NOW WE ARE OFFICIALLY PASS HOLDERS AGAIN!
We are pass holders once again!
Haunted Mansion tree at Disney Springs
Once all the boring stuff was over with (and we saw our movie), Cash and I decided to walk around and look at stuff (one of my favorite Disney Springs pastimes). It was all so magical, with garland hanging everywhere and festive music being piped in. In the past we always loved going through the Christmas Tree Trail; it’s a Disney Springs tradition where they decorate each tree with a different theme. Post-COVID, they have the trees spread throughout the park, which wasn’t quite as festive in my opinion, but still really cool. We had fun walking around and guessing what each tree’s theme is (it isn’t always super obvious), and found out afterward that there is a map that you can follow and mark them all off, then turn in for a free cookie. We’ll have to try that next time! Our favorite tree was the Haunted Mansion one.
Next we hit up the Lego store. They are limiting the number of people that can go in, and the line was pretty long, but I really really wanted to see the Home Alone build up close. Cash convinced me to stay and wait, and the line moved pretty quickly. I’m so glad we did! It was SUPER EPIC up close. They also had a little hide-and-seek contest where you had to find a Kevin mini figure hidden in the store, and once you did, you could scan it and enter to win $1000 of free Legos. Guys, this could complete my dream of owning the Hogwarts castle AND Diagon Alley. So hopefully Cash or I will win and I will certainly take all of the earnings to support my dreams.
The one other thing I wanted to highlight was that we went into a chocolate shop called The Ganachery, and it was life changing. Cash opted to get one of their made-to-order s’mores, which we got to watch being made through a little display window. I paid $5.50 for a very small cup of their Hot Ganache, which I was expecting to be like a hot chocolate (offered seasonally). When I saw the size at first (even though it was topped with a lovely bit of whipped cream and festive sprinkles) I was less than impressed. Then I took a sip. HOLY MOLY. It was everything hot chocolate should be. It was so rich that the small cup was more than enough. Cash declared his s’more “the best I have ever or will ever eat” which is saying something, as he is a bit of a s’more connoisseur. I tried a bite and had to agree. The graham cracker wasn’t really a graham cracker, more of a soft cookie like bread…and I swear I tasted a hint of gingerbread, or something similar. We’ll definitely be back!
